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ISAC 2022: Fans back to bashing K-pop sports day as idols fall in sponsored shoes

AB6IX's Woojin, Donghyun, Tempest's Hanbin and VeriVery's Gyehyeon fell and sustained minor injuries during their races

While fans had turned a blind eye to the risks that ISAC (Idol Star Athletics Championships) poses with the 2022 edition of the K-pop sports day being fun and exciting, that has changed again. A day after the recording for ISAC 2022, VeriVery’s Gyehyeon went viral for the wrong reason. While we got several adorable moments from him guiding fans on how to cheer for the members to fooling around with other idols, there was a minor incident during one of the matches. During his turn in a relay event, the VeriVery member ended up falling along with two AB6IX members while Tempest's Hanbin fell during a race.

On August 1, VeriVery participated in the men’s relay match at ISAC 2022. During Gyehyeon’s turn, while running, he ended up stumbling and falling right in front of his members. However, that did not deter him as he got up. A few seconds later, his shoe came off but he continued to run. VeriVery caught up in the second round and came in second. While fans were impressed and congratulated the K-pop group, a clip of Gyehyeon losing his shoe went viral on Korean chat forums in the following days.

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VeriVery, Tempest and AB6IX members fall

Fans observed that the idols who fell were wearing the same sponsored shoes. Dubbing it the ‘Ugly Shoes’ for its bulky design, Knetz claimed it was not suitable for sports since the design was rough and it had high heels. The audience also claimed that the idols fell during the first curve of the relay race due to the ground being covered in paper sheets and the poor grip of the sponsored shoes. AB6IX’s Woojin and Donghyun both fell at the curve with the latter injuring his hand. Tempest’s Hanbin also slid and fell during a race but fans feel it was due to a drone getting in his way.

Previously, ISAC had come under fire for reportedly violating basic human rights as they had initially barred fans from eating in the stadium or leaving during the 15-hour filming. In the past, there have also been severe injuries faced by K-pop idols that affected comebacks and award show performances as seen in the case of Infinite, VIXX and EXO.

‘Never learnt their lesson’

Knetz were frustrated as they called for the K-pop sports day to simply be canceled. They left comments like, “Just stop this program, seriously. These innocent idols keep getting hurt every day for nothing,” “Can we please get rid of IAC already? Or at least just stick to e-sports where they won't hurt their bodies,” and “Even if the tracks are problematic, the shoes are just eba. Are they trying to twist these idols' ankles?”

Another fan wrote, “When will this get cancelled and we just let NaPD handle this on Game Caterers?  Much safer and way funnier.” One was angry, “It’s not the shoes, it’s the fact that they have idols running on f**king SHEET PAPER. It’s not even a real track so no shit people will trip.” Another commented, “I am so angered by ISAC. They never learnt their lesson regarding safety. My babies Hanbin, Donghyun and Woojin all fell during the relay race. If you know AB6IX, Woojin and Donghyun are highly athletic. They did not fell because they are not good at running.”

A Tempest fan shared, “Hanbin fell down while running it looks painful, i hope he's okay i'm so worried.” An AB6IX fan was worried, “Donghyun keeps saying that he is fine...but he keeps looking and touching the scars on his hands.” A VeriVery fan shared, “They're were so good 🥺 I hope Gye is ok.” Another fan wrote, “I will admit, the show could be quite fun if it had proper safety measuress and actually cared for idols' wellbeing but since it doesn't and they don't, it should just be cancelled altogether.”

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